Deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych said he still considers himself to be Ukraine's head of state but asked Russia to ensure his personal security.
(Russia's flag flies atop the parliament building in Simferopol in the Crimean peninsula).
“I still consider myself to be the legal head of the Ukrainian state,'' said Yanukovych in a statement to Russian news agencies, his first comments since February 22. “I am compelled to ask the Russian Federation to ensure my personal security from the actions of extremists,’’ he said, adding that the latest decisions by the Ukrainian parliament “do not have legitimate character.''
The statement, released simultaneously by Russia's three main news agencies, gave no further clue about his whereabouts.
Amid these developments, prosecutors in Ukraine launched a “terror'' inquiry over the seizure of government buildings by pro-Russian gunmen in the Crimea peninsula, the general prosecutor said in a statement.
Prosecutors in the Russian-speaking region opened a case based on a statue governing any alleged “terrorist act'' after dozens of armed men seized the local parliament and government headquarters.—AFP